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Sunday, March 19, 2006

Some real progress

I am not referring to Must Have Cardigan, with which I seem to be suffering from some sort of knitting funk. So it is highly possible that I would put it on the back burner and wait until I feel like working on it again; maybe next winter, who knows? The progress I am talking about is for the Sampler Stole.

I started this project on the first day of March and got 14 rows done during the first few days. With 14 rows, the pattern didn't really show and so I began to suspect the needle size (US2) I used was not right. Then I discovered that Eunny is using a size way smaller than mine. Therefore, I continued. Now I have finished 2 pattern repeats for the central panel and finally I can see the pattern emerging.

I am using KnitPicks' Alpaca Clouds in Iris. The colour is really hard to capture ... but maybe you can see it better in this:

You can also see the best stitch marker I discovered. Those beaded stitch markers are cute and beautiful ... but they really irritate me, especially in lace. These double rings are perfect - the size is right; there is nothing unnecessary that would get in the way of knitting; and unlike split stitch markers, the very thin lace yarn won't get caught through the split.

Actually, this is my third attempt. For the first time, I didn't get the provisional cast on right. Then, I found that I was struggling big time but didn't get much done with the Aero needle (right of the picture). After touring the nearest shops, I found the best needle (left of the picture) for this lace project - Susan Bates Quicksilver:

That little point made the knitting a lot easier to manage, though the cord is not. It would be perfect if I could transplant the pointy needles to the very flexible Addi cord.

Right now, I am loving this project. This is a more sophisticated lace project than River or Kiri, and yet not so challenging that I would feel frustrated ... yet! I still have to see how it goes when it comes to the 2 borders and the edging.

15 comments:

Oh my goodness! Your lace is GORGEOUS!! The pattern is emerging so beautifully! I'll be using Alpaca Cloud when I cast-on for the stole later this week, too. I was planning to use US 3's, but now I'm wondering if I should go down to 2's instead. I'm going to use my Inox needles, so I'm crossing my fingers that it works out well for this. Looking at your beautiful panel makes me so excited to cast-on for mine!! Fantastic work...take care, Agnes! :-)

That is a beautiful pattern! I am picky about lace, but that looks like something I would wear. Seems like plenty of folks have noticed the lack of pointy, well connected circs--maybe there is a marketing idea in there somewhere?

I absolutely agree about the needles! Quicksilver points on Addi Turbo cord, and you're good to go. Bryspun circulars are pretty good, too, but they don't go that small. Sigh. I guess we all keep looking.

Such a lovely lace! And one suggestion: Since you're working a straight project that doesn't have a gazillion stitches, I recommend straight needles because it is so much easier than constantly working the lightweight yarn stitches over that ugly join.

I made some beaded markers for the fun of it but I use (prefer) the wafer thin ones myself - especially for laceweight.They come in 3 sizes in a tiny box and are completely smooth. Not too pricey either.

Hmmm, I like that very, very much, and since I'm currently knitting with some of the same yarn I know exactly what the color looks like. Although I think I'm going to frog my projects and start on a different lace. I just can't wrap my brain around writing my own pattern right now.

It's weird, some of my Aeros have better points than others! My #2's have a perfect point but my #1's are kinda blunt! You'd think some manufactured would make a great flexible csble with a smooth join, pointy tips and a true #2 (2.75 mm) instead of the Addi 2.5 mm!